Check ‘blackmoney’ deposits in Ker co-op banks: BJP to Jaitley

Kochi: A day after Kerala’s LDF government flagged concerns over the impact of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on the co-operative banking sector, BJP today alleged huge amount of “blackmoney” was deposited in these banks and sought steps by the Centre to verify them.
Targeting the cooperative banking sector, largely controlled by elected representatives belonging to either CPI(M)-led LDF or Congress-led UDF, BJP state General Secretary K Surendran claimed “serious type of tax evasion is taking place” in such institutions.
In a letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, he said, “An estimated Rs 30,000 crores of black money had been deposited in the cooperative banks in the state and not a single paise is paid as income tax on them.” “The depositors include politicians, real estate mafias, hawala dealers and terrorists. It will be for the benefit of the country, if these deposits are verified and necessary action is taken,” he said.
He also urged the Finance Minister not to accept the demand of the Kerala government seeking exemption to the cooperative banks from income tax net.
The CPI-M led LDF government in Kerala has said demonetisiation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes would create “chaos” in the co-operative sector besides causing difficulty to the common man.
Making a statement in the state assembly on the Centre’s decision, State Finance minister T M Thomas Issac had yesterday said the disorder it would create in the co-operative sector, which was not under banking regulation, would be huge as there was no directive on how to handle cash in this sector. PTI